The Boy and The Book
by wgahhahf
Summary: Harry Potter is out after curfew, and accidentally hears a teacher meeting about him. Dumbledore is being extremely secretive about something he might potentially need to know about, and Harry begins to dabble in Dark magic along with Hermione. [An Independent!Harry/Hermione fic.]
1. The Beginning

**A/N: Ugh. A plot bunny managed to worm its way into my mind, and I haven't been able to forget this. At least I'll be able to finally write this out, haha!**

 **Anyway, there might be H/Hr in future chapters, as well as Weasley bashing (Mainly Ron, not much for Fred and George.), Dumbledore bashing and Powerful/Independent Harry (potentially Dark as well). If this isn't your cup of tea, or should I say mug of butterbeer, I suggest you find another story.**

 **And without further ado, let the story commence!**

"Speaking"

 _Thought_

 **Books/Author Notes**

The shadows cast by the feathery moonlight filtering through Hogwarts windows gave an eerie feel to the area. Harry Potter was out of his common room after curfew, again.

He peered into the empty classrooms as he walked past, when he heard hushed voices conversing around the corner. "We can't let the boy know what we're doing, Severus," a familiar female voice said. The other voice, presumably Professor Snape, answered, "Potter will find out either way. I agree that he cannot know about-" There was a silence, only broken by Professor Dumbledore. "Not right now. I think the boy may be listening."

Harry broke into a sprint towards Gryffindor tower. He needed to find out what they were hiding from him, and soon. Reasoning that if he slept he could think more clearly, he lay down on his four-poster. However, sleep didn't come. His mind kept replaying what had happened in the corridor.

Soon, the morning sunlight pierced through his curtains and he knew it would be fruitless to keep trying to sleep. Unsurprisingly, Ron was still dead to the world, so he pulled on his robes as quietly as he could and made his way down to the common room.

"Hello, Harry. Why are you up so early on a Saturday morning?" he heard Hermione's tired voice from a seat in front of the fireplace. "I could ask you the same thing." Harry retorted, expecting the usual reply. "Reading," she answered, "but I'm sure you're not surprised." Harry snorted. "Mind if I sit next to you?" Hermione hesitated for a millisecond, then agreed, slipping a musty old book into her robe pocket. However, it didn't go unnoticed. "Hey, what's that book you just put away?" he asked, with a tone of mild curiosity. "N-nothing special." Hermione answered vaguely, but stopped when she saw Harry's narrowed eyes and suspicious look. "Show me," he said firmly, "If it's something you need help on, maybe I can help you."

After what felt like minutes of just staring each other down, Hermione finally relented. "Fine, but you can't freak out." "Alright," he agreed, "But what's so important-" His words cut off as he saw the ancient-looking tome that his friend was holding.

"An Introduction To The Dark Arts?" he read in confusion as he prodded the intricately carved leather binding. "There, I showed you," she huffed. "Now you're probably going to lecture me on how highly addictive the magics are, and how I'm in danger."

"What? No, I actually was going to ask if I could take a look." Hermione looked embarrassed, a faint pink blush tinting her cheeks. "Well, then."

Harry flipped through the book with mild interest, until one page caught his eye. It read,

 **The Exploratorem spell is often used as Utility magic. Although it is classified as Dark magic, it causes a minimum amount of addiction to the user. Many wizards use this spell to spy on their enemies, and it is favored because of its difficulty to be detected. Correctly performing this spell will create a small window that shows what the target is doing. The incantation for this spell is simply "Exploratorem," and the full name of the target. The wand movement is very simple as it is just a circular motion.**

After reading it over a couple times, he looked up at Hermione. "Can you keep a secret?" "What do you mean?" She asked, confused. Harry hesitated, then spoke quietly. "Last night, I used the cloak to walk around the castle," he admitted, and kept going on despite Hermione's spluttering about rules. "The point is that I heard Snape, McGonagall, Dumbledore and potentially others discussing some kind of secret." He paused. "Come to think of it, Dumbledore somehow sensed I was nearby. He only did that once before, when I was in First Year." Hermione's delicate features contorted into a look of determination. "Harry, I think it's your right to know what they were talking about. It might be about something extremely important." "Are you saying that I can use this spell?" he asked in surprise, then smiled as she nodded. "Thanks, Hermione."

The two of them leaned together, weight supporting each other. Hermione soon dozed off, and soon, Harry was left with a beautiful sleeping girl on his lap. He sat in a comfortable silence, listening to Hermione's rhythmic breathing as the sun climbed higher and higher into the sky. The common room started to rustle with the sounds of birdsong and the early morning stragglers. Harry glanced into Hermione's deep brown eyes for a split second.

"Shall we go to breakfast?"

 **A/N: How was the first chapter? Please leave reviews in the comments so I can improve the grammar and such in the story.**

 **The Exploratorem spell is just something I made up. I'm not even sure there's a spying spell in the canon world. I'm sorry if the Latin is wrong, I translated the word "Spy" into Google Translate and that's what came out.**

 **Anyway, I might update soon. R &R, and arigats my amigos!**


	2. Memories

**A/N: Thank you all so much for your feedback on this story. It makes me so happy to see that people are happy!**

 **Thanks to Laylett for reviewing. To answer your question (and possibly others as well), Harry is in the 5th year of school, and it's winter in the story.**

 **And now, let the story begin!**

"Speaking"

 _Thoughts/Flashback_

 **Books/Author Notes**

The two of them walked side by side in a comfortable silence. Harry's mind was swirling with thoughts about earlier that morning. Reading together and sitting next to each other, the pretty morning sunlight, how Hermione had looked beautiful…

 _Stop it, Harry. You're being creepy again._

For the third time that week, he found himself fantasizing about Hermione. It was strange, because that had only happened a couple times with Ginny. However, after he had taken a potion Madam Pomfrey had given him, those odd thoughts vanished and were replaced by the girl by his side.

 _-Flashback-_

" _But Madam Pomfrey, I'm fine!" Harry said, not wanting to go back to the Hospital Wing._

" _I have seen fit that you require a check-up. After all those injuries you have endured on your… adventures, I see no reason why I should not check for long-lasting side effects."_

 _Harry closed his eyes as he was dragged up to the infirmary, praying that she would not see the scars from his uncle and aunt's abuse._

" _Here, lie down." Madam Pomfrey spoke gently. "It will be quick."_

 _She took out her wand, and murmured a few spells. With each one, her eyes grew wider with surprise._

" _Oh… Oh dear." she whispered to herself in shock as she saw his back glow, signaling that he had been severely hurt._

 _Wincing, Harry rolled onto his stomach as she began to inspect the old scar._

" _Who did this?" she hissed with barely contained rage._

" _I- I fell." he lied feebly, knowing she would not believe him the moment the words left his lips._

" _Potter, dear, please tell me the truth," she said, setting down a couple of multicoloured potions._

" _It- it was my uncle. He had a couple too many drinks, and used his belt." he admitted, feeling like a whole sack of flour had been lifted off his shoulders._

 _From where he was sitting, he could perfectly see Madam Pomfrey's sky blue eyes darken with anger, almost like a thunderstorm had come._

" _Those Muggles." she spat with more emotion than he had ever heard contained in a sentence._

" _Wait here." Madam Pomfrey growled, and soon came back with more potions that he did not recognize. "These are mainly scar-healing potions as well as ones with effects of reversing abuse, but with a guardian like Albus, I think it is for the best that I add a strong effect neutralizer as well. Who knows what he could have dosed you poor thing with?" she muttered mainly to herself as she handed Harry vials after vials._

 _He shuddered after every bottle, the awful tastes ranging from incredibly bitter to sickly sweet._

 _The last one seemed to be a Dreamless Sleep potion, and he soon found himself dozing off._

 _Until, he heard glass shatter and a horrified gasp._

 _His eyes fluttered open, taking in the surroundings. Madam Pomfrey was standing in front of him in shock as she read the effects of potions he had been supposedly fed year after year._

 _Taking a glance at the self-updating sheet she had dropped, he himself felt like fainting._

 _An impossibly long list was in his hands. His glazed eyes read over them, more and more overwhelmed with each word._

 _ **Long-Term Potions and Charms cast on Harry Potter (Formerly Cygnus Malfoy):**_

 _ **Blood Adoption Ritual- Cast by James Potter and Lily Potter (**_ _ **née Evans)**_

 _ **Glamour Charm - Cast by Albus Dumbledore**_

 _ **Magical Core Blocked by 30% - By Albus Dumbledore**_

 _ **Abilities Blocked: Hereditary Dark Magic Affinity- 99%, Parselmagic- 95%, IQ- 30%, Strength- 15%, Speed- 5%**_

 _ **All abilities listed above have been blocked by Albus Dumbledore.**_

 _ **Personality control: Be loyal to Albus Dumbledore and the Light, hate the Dark, Become troublemakers with Ron Weasley, Hate the Malfoys, Hate all Slytherins, Love Quidditch, Believe everything Albus Dumbledore says, Never disobey Albus Dumbledore, Become a Gryffindor, Disagree to Sorting Hat about being placed in Slytherin.**_

 _ **Hidden Potions Ingested: Aging Potion. False Birthday On July 31, 1980. (True Birthday On December 14, 1981.)**_

 _ **Memory Erasing Potion to erase memory of Malfoy Family.**_

 _ **False Memory Potion for visions of Potter Family's death.**_

 _ **Confidence Potion for becoming the Boy Who Lived.**_

 _ **Love Potion for Ginny Weasley.**_

 _ **All potions above have been brewed and given to by Albus Dumbledore.**_

 _Harry felt like screaming and fainting at the same time. He was not a Potter, and a Malfoy… Had been manipulated by Dumbledore all his life… Rage simmered underneath as he felt the neutralizing potion take place. His respect and loyalty to that old coot was starting to disappear, and he felt good that he wasn't under any more influences. Just how much more of his life was a lie?_

" _Madam Pomfrey?" he asked softly. "What am I going to do? I don't want to look like a Malfoy just yet…"_

" _Of course. Would you like me to teach you the glamour charm?"_

" _Yes, please."_

 _After he had mastered it, Madam Pomfrey's eyes flared with anger once more._

" _I'm going to Dumbledore." she snapped, and shut the door behind her._

 _A few weeks later, Harry was still wondering about how Madam Pomfrey's confrontation to Dumbledore had gone. After telling his friends that his throat was hurting, he dashed to the Hospital Wing._

" _Madam Pomfrey? Did you go to Dumbledore?" he asked._

" _What about?" she said, looking confused._

" _About my check-up a couple weeks ago."_

 _She still seemed bewildered about the event, so he started explaining the events over again._

 _After he was done, she stood up and went into her potions cupboard. "I have a sneaky suspicion about something."_

 _Madam Pomfrey downed the vial of the potion, and immediately gasped as the memory returned along with a scene of Dumbledore Obliviating her._

" _That old coot! He Obliviated me!" she growled._

 _Harry sat quietly. He had not told Hermione or Ron about the events of that day yet. His instinct told him that while Ron would not take him being a Malfoy and supposed Dark Wizard very well, but Hermione had a chance of being level-headed. However, she still had been hurt by Malf-_ _ **his brother**_ _, and she might end up hating him. The Slytherins would jeer and laugh for trying to get attention, and he would have no one left… He decided not to tell until he was ready._

" _Madam Pomfrey?" he called._

" _Yes, dear?" she asked sympathetically._

" _Can I have a copy of the paper with all that information on it?"_

" _Of course, Harry." she answered gently, the first time she had called him with his first name._

 _He found himself enjoying Madam Pomfrey's strict but motherly nature. It was almost as if this caring feeling he got from her was something he missed in his fake life._

 _-End of Flashback-_

"Hey, Hermione?" he asked casually as the two of them walked down the corridor to the Great Hall.

"Yes, Harry?" she replied and turned to look at him.

"There's been something I've been meaning to show you…" he whispered and pulled out the paper with the information on it. "Please don't end up hating me for this."

Hermione gasped quietly, a hand over her mouth as she read the paper.

"Long-Term Potions and Charms cast on Harry Potter, formerly Cygnus Malfoy?" she read incredulously. "This is a joke, ri-" her sentence was cut off as she saw Harry's heartbroken expression.

She placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"It's all going to be fine. We're going to sort this out together."

 **A/N: I'm not very sure where I went with this. I think that this fic is going to end up as a disorganized mess of my favorite HP fic genres…**

 **I'll do my best to keep it on track, but for now I'm labelling this fic as Dark/Independent Harry, H/Hr, Harry is a Malfoy, Manipulative Dumbledore, Nice!Malfoys, Good!Draco, Idiot!Ron, and Weasley Bashing.**

 **Please review and tell me if I missed anything strange in this chapter.**

 **I apologise that almost all of this was flashback, but I was listening to Animal Crossing: New Leaf's 1AM music and it sort of took me to a different world. [I totally recommend it. It's absolutely beautiful, and it always helps me write.]**

 **Arigats my amigos!**

 **-Jordb** **æren**


	3. Love (?)

**A/N: And here's the third chapter! I'm not sure what to write here, so without further ado, let the story begin!**

 **Oh, and the "key" for the bold/italics/regulars is going to get a bit confusing.**

"Speaking"/Normal

 _Emphasis/Flashback (all flashbacks will be labelled)_

 **Book/Author Notes**

 _ **Parseltongue**_

That night, Harry and Hermione were practicing the Exploratorem, in the Room of Requirement.

"Perhaps we should try it on each other before we try any of the teachers. If we cast it wrong, someone might be able to sense it." Hermione reasoned.

"Yeah, probably a good idea." Harry agreed. "Who's going first?"

"I will." She said, and cast, "Exploratorem Harry Potter!"

Nothing happened. Huffing, she tried again, with no avail.

"Maybe you should try it with… Cygnus Malfoy?" Harry suggested, but Hermione shook her head.

"If you went through a blood adoption, your name would have been magically changed to Harry Potter, meaning it would only work for that name."

"Oh." He said, then added, "Maybe I can try. Since it's Dark magic, my hereditary affinity might help."

After Hermione's nod, he muttered, "Exploratorem Hermione Granger."

A small circular window appeared in front of him, showing Hermione's face.

Maintaining the spell drained quite a bit of his magic, but every couple of seconds he felt a tingling sensation spreading from his hands to his feet.

"I did it!" He crowed triumphantly, but he lost focus and the window fizzled out.

He collapsed, completely drained yet stimulated from the effects of Dark magic.

Hermione rushed over and hugged him, causing him to stiffen.

"You did it!" she said, eyes shining. "Now we can find out what Dumbledore is hiding!"

He relaxed in her embrace for just a bit, basking in her pride and warm scent.

Harry leaned against Hermione and whispered something in her ear that she would never forget. "I… think I love you."

She felt her spine tingle with shock.

"R-really?"

He nodded, and froze as Hermione broke off, looking at Harry with uncertain eyes.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I thought you were with Ginny…"

He shook his head. "Remember that list? Dumbledore dosed me with some love potion."

She shook her head, balling her hands into fists. "That horrible old man! Who does he think he is, doing things for 'the greater good' and 'the light'. Compared to the Dark, what he's doing is nearly as bad! Just how many others' lives has he messed up?"

"I know, Hermione. I'm just as angry as you are, but I need you to keep me happy. So even just for a month, will you please be my girlfriend?" he asked, finally pulling together the courage to ask.

She blinked in surprise, then beamed. "Of course, Harry! I'd love t-" Her sentence was broken off as a completely disheveled Ron stood in the doorway.

"Oi! What are you two talking about without me?"

Exchanging a nervous glance, Harry lied, "We were discussing about Potions homework."

Ron glared. "I know that's not true! I heard Hermione and you talking about Dumbledore and how the Light is as bad as the Dark! How will he react if he finds out you've become a dirty Dark wizard?"

Harry was furious. "A _dirty_ Dark wizard? Is that the best you can come up with? Oh, well, I'm actually not surprised as the only comeback you could say against Draco is 'shut up'."

"Oh, so you're on first-name basis with Malfoy?" he snarled. "Don't tell me you're a slimy Slytherin as well!" Ron said while advancing on the two. Upon seeing Harry's checkup results' paper, he ran forward and snatched it out of Hermione's grasp.

Ron unfolded it and read the first line, stopping when he saw Harry's real name.

"Cygnus _Malfoy_?" he roared, spittle flying everywhere. "No wonder you're referring to that _scum_ as his first name. You're one of the _Dark, Evil, Slimy_ Slytherins as well!" he raged. "You've infiltrated the Light's House, the noble Gryffindors as the _Saviour of The Light_!"

Harry stood there, silently quivering with emotion.

"Get out of my _**sssight**_." he said quietly, lisping into Parseltongue out of anger.

Ron, on the other hand, took it as more evidence that Harry was dark.

"See! Being a Parselmouth is another mark of a Dark wizard _and_ being a Slytherin!"

Harry repeated himself, his words hissing out, barely understandable.

Taking a threatening step forward, he held his wand ready to hex him into oblivion.

Ron took one glance at Harry's wand and ran out of the common room yelling, "I'll get you for this, scum!"

Hermione turned to Harry. "I don't think Ron's coming back to us this time." she said carefully, trying not to hurt him more than he had already been that day."  
However, his answer was not what she expected.

" _ **I'll get him for this.**_ " he hissed, not realizing he was speaking Parseltongue.

"Harry, I can't understand that. Please try to calm down." she spoke softly.

He nodded and apologized. "I'm sorry, Hermione, for saying things like that around you. Now I know you won't l-love me." Harry said weakly, tears threatening to fall.

Hermione shook her head. "No, it's okay. Ron was being a git and I think he deserved it. Also, I will always want to be by your side no matter what happens."

"You really mean it?" he asked, hope shining in his broken eyes.

"Of course I mean it." she reassured him. "For ever and ever."

 **A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I just thought ending it on this note would make the story feel… fluffier. I dunno.**

 **Anyway, is the relationship moving too fast? Was Ron being** _ **too much**_ **of a git?  
Please tell me in the reviews. **

**Arigats my amigos!**

 **-Jordb** **æren**


	4. The Dream, The Git and The Potion Master

**A/N: Hello again my readers!**

 **Thanks to whoever anonymous person who reviewed my story. As an answer to your question, I'm sorry that this story's moving so fast. It's actually my first fanfiction. [not like that would change anything aha] I'll try better to write more realistically from now on, and with hopefully less mistakes.**

"Speaking"

 _Emphasis/Flashbacks [all flashbacks will be labelled]_

 **Author Notes/Book**

 _ **Parseltongue**_

Harry was dreaming. Unlike usual, he could tell that he was not in Voldemort's body. As he looked around, his breath caught in his throat.

Snake decorations on the wall, snake decorations on the floor… _He must be in The Chamber Of Secrets._

He shivered as he felt his legs move by themselves towards Salazar Slytherin's face.

His mouth opened, and hissed the words he hoped he'd never hear again.

" _ **Speak to me Salazar Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four**_."

Slytherin's mouth opened, releasing a monstrous Basilisk.

As it coiled around him, he could hear it whisper to him.

" _ **Together, we will kill every single mudblood in this school. Me, and you… Tom Riddle**_."

He was jolted out of his dream, drenched in cold sweat and shivering. Checking the time, he noticed it was well past his usual and classes would start in less than an hour.

"Class preparation now, dreams later." he muttered and threw on his clothes, which coincidentally were a Slytherin green sweater and jeans.

Dashing down the stairs, he tripped and fell forward, landing on his face.

Harsh bouts of laughter erupted around him, and when he looked up, he saw Ron smirking and swaggering towards him.

"Not so high and powerful now, are we, _Potter_?"

He raised his foot, ready to land a powerful kick when McGonagall burst through the door, holding papers.

"Mister Weasley, I must-" she stopped, when she saw him preparing to kick Harry.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on here?" she asked in shock, not expecting the boy's supposed best friend to be hurting him.

As she snapped out of it, she gave a steely glare to Ron and the other Fifth years. "The whole lot of you are coming with me to my classroom immediately." she commanded, pointing to the entrance.

Dashing over, she bent down to where Harry was. "Have you been hurt?" she asked, and when he shook his head no, she practically dragged his year-mates away.

Harry looked around wildly for Hermione, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Running out of the portrait hole, he made a beeline for the Great Hall. He burst through the doors and fast-walked to the Gryffindor table, and sat next to his girlfriend. At her concerned look, he shook his head and muttered, "I'll tell you later when no one else is watching."

After breakfast, the two of them made their way towards Potions. "So, what happened? I saw Professor McGonagall looking quite angry… Did you get in trouble?"

Harry shook his head. "No, actually. Ron caused some trouble at the worst timing for him."

"Oh?" she asked, wanting more information.

"Well… You know how he is after we fight. But today, he was _really_ being a git. It's not really what he said was mean, but him using my last name was sort of hurtful." he said truthfully. "After all those years of being used to him calling me 'Harry', it was strange."

Hermione sighed. "So I guess all of Gryffindor, at least the Fifth years know that you're not 'a pinnacle of light' as you used to be. I'm still surprised it hasn't gone to Dumbledore."

He shook his head. "Now that McGonagall knows, and Ron might twist the story, the old coot's definitely going to try to manipulate me again. I'm surprised nothing's happened yet, even though Madam Pomfrey went to him."

As the two of them walked through the door, both the Gryffindors and Slytherins went silent.

Harry made a quick move to sit down at the back of the classroom next to Hermione, and avoid everyone's glances, but Ron turned around from his spot next to Seamus and sneered at the two of them, mouthing "Traitor."

A couple of Slytherins peered sideways calculatingly, as if to try to understand the drama between the supposed 'Golden Trio'. However, when Snape stalked in, robes billowing, all went quiet.

"Today, we will be making a simple infirmary-level healing potion," he drawled, waving his wand lazily and revealing the directions.

To Harry, the whole lesson went by quite quickly. He didn't notice the sidelong glances from others, or Snape practically snorting steam down his neck.

Only when Hermione prodded him, telling him that the potion's colour was perfect was when he noticed that the class was almost over.

"Professor Snape, we're finished." Hermione spoke up, and carefully brought back a vial of the potion.

The professor's mouth twitched as if all he wanted to say was that it was awful and they failed, but surprisingly, he nodded grudgingly and gave it an Acceptable.

Ron's, on the other hand, was a sickly yellow instead of the pinkish red that his former friends' one was.

Snape stormed over, growling, "Idiot boy! Did you not read the part saying how you need to wait for precisely thirty-four seconds before adding the lacewings? I bet that you were too busy talking that the idea of potion-making completely went out of your thick skull."

Seething, Ron dumped the failed potion away while mouthing rude words in the direction of Harry and Hermione.

Shaking her head, she sighed. "It's not even our fault that his potion was bad. Really, by this rate he'll probably blame us the next time it rains."

Harry gave a small laugh and smiled at Hermione's joke.

The two of them began cleaning all their ingredients and cauldron, and left the classroom hand in hand as class ended.

 **A/N: I'm really trying to get a new chapter out by 12:00AM my time every day, I really am. But I'm starting to lose sight of where I was going with this fic, and it's taking more time to brainstorm the next chapter then actually write it. Again, I'm so sorry if I can't get this done, or if I take a really long time to update.**

 **Also, I'm apologizing in advance for any continuity errors, grammatical errors or just plain weird things that happen in my story that don't make sense. For example, as the anonymous reviewer pointed out, I didn't make it clear if Ron gave back the paper or not. I'm really sorry for those kind of errors as well, and I hope to fix them in the future.**

 **Speaking of fixing errors, I don't have a beta yet and I'm trying to re-read my chapters for spelling/grammar errors.**

 **I really hope you understand and again, I'm very sorry for any mistakes you find in my story. Thank you so much for reading, and I'll do my best to update as fast as I can.**


	5. Quils

**A/N: Hi, you guys.**

"Speaking"

 _Emphasis/Flashbacks (All flashbacks will be labelled.)_

 **Book/Author Notes**

 _ **Parseltongue**_

Harry had decided to meet his… family.

As it was still during the week, he decided he would start with Draco.

He doubted anyone normal would write letters at six-thirty in the morning, but he felt as if he really needed to get the weight off of his shoulders.

Grimacing, he took a piece of parchment and a quill, and wrote,

 **Dear Draco Malfoy,**

 **I am writing this letter to you because I wish to amend fences between us.**

 **I apologize for my behavior in Madam Malkin's as well as when you offered your hand to me, and if it is not too late to redeem myself, I wish to give you the friendship that you deserved from the beginning.**

 **For further information about this new change of heart, per se, I request you to meet me at the seventh floor corridor, in front of the statue of Barnabas the Barmy, tonight at 9:30PM.**

 **I swear upon my magic that I have no intent to harm or humiliate you, that I only wish to talk. I am trusting that you will do the same for me.**

 **Hoping to see you there,**

 **Harry Potter.**

After folding it and giving it to Hedwig, he gagged.

The letter he had just written _dripped_ with lies. At least he had gotten it over with, and hopefully he would be able to get on the good side of his… _family._ After having a whole life believing that he was alone, it still felt quite nice to think that he had close relatives. Strange, but nice.

He headed out to the Great Hall for breakfast after thirty minutes, and just sat down when a flurry of feathers and talons blew in through the window. When he noticed Hermione's absence, he watched the people filtering in for breakfast for a while. After he realized she might not be coming, he stole a glance at the Slytherin table when he saw Hedwig land down next to Draco and started eating his bacon.

Barely suppressing a snicker, Harry began calmly eating his breakfast, periodically watching Draco through his peripheral.

However, when Draco gaped at him from the Slytherin table, he openly met his eyes and smirked, leaving the other people watching to wonder what in Merlin's name was going on between the two rivals.

He calmly ate his breakfast, quietly ignoring Ron's not-so-subtle glares while eating sausages and French toast.

After sipping his coffee while reading ahead for Charms, he packed his bag and left the Great Hall.

Humming quietly to himself and checking his schedule, he groaned when he saw he had Transfiguration. It wasn't as bad as Potions, but it wasn't exactly his best, either.

Harry pushed up his glasses, which were slipping down his nose. As they were outdated and barely held together anymore, he thought for a bit and decided to either get better glasses, contact lenses or have them fixed magically.

His vault in Gringotts would be enough to afford all of those choices, but he would decide when the time came.

As he walked towards Transfiguration, he noticed a bathroom on the way. He pushed open the door, and when he realized it was empty, he took off his robe, looking at the ragged and old clothes that were underneath.

Sighing, he added a mental note to buy better clothes as well as potentially some new robes.

As he walked into the classroom, he was surprised to see Hermione already sitting in a chair.

She seemed to be muttering incantations and waving her wand while pointing it at a small beetle on her desk.

When Harry came up to sit next to her, the bug flashed and turned into a inkpot cover, still with the green and pink shininess of its shell.

"Wow! That's amazing, Hermione!" he spoke, smiling at the sight of his girlfriend's happiness.

She looked down, slightly embarrassed at his pride, but laughed. "I was wanting one of those shiny covers, but I didn't feel like going out to Diagon. Instead I set a challenge for myself." she explained, still radiating happiness.

Harry nodded in understanding. "Sometimes I'm _really_ thankful you became a Gryffindor." he added, smiling stupidly.

"Why?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"If you're this smart, you could have just been a Ravenclaw that I don't know. But because you're in Gryffindor, I got to know you and your amazing intelligence and kindness can help me out, _obviously._ " he laughed, joking.

The two of them jumped as Professor McGonagall came in and commanded them all to sit down. As Harry took a seat next to Hermione, she began instructing them on how to transfigure a feather into a fully working quill.

"However," she added, "You will be taking this to your next Charms class and will be learning how to enchant it to never run out of ink. I _do_ hope that you will be able to perform this, because a feather constantly spouting ink will not be useful."

The whole class began whispering excitedly. Harry focused on the whispers and caught fragments of conversation.

"... the best quill ever …"

"... I prefer pink …"

He shook his head exasperatedly at some sentences he caught, such as,

"... sounds really difficult…"

Harry knew his own best way to transfigure things, and after a couple tries, he found that it would always work.

It involved strong visualization, until he could practically reach out and touch it.

Today, he looked at the feather and envisioned a cobalt blue feather with a beautifully engraved silver tip. He could almost see every single fibre, coloured vibrantly, and the tip having patterns of waves. As he visualized it, he made a mental note to ask Professor Flitwick more about cleaning charms, so his quill would not be ruined by the ink.

After a couple tries while keeping the image of the quill perfectly in his mind, he felt a surge of magic spurt out of his wand. It just felt… _right._ He knew he had done it.

When he opened his eyes, he was met with the most beautiful quill he had ever seen. It was almost exactly like what he had thought of, and far surpassed many other people's designs. He looked to where Hermione was transfiguring hers, and he stifled a small gasp.

In her hands was a jet-black quill with a slight green hue, and the tip was metallic and shifting colors from green to pink. It matched her inkpot cover perfectly.

Internally, he reminded himself to ask Hermione on how to make an inkpot cover for himself. He found himself wanting one that matched his quill as well, and couldn't wait.

"Fifteen points to Gryffindor each, Mister Potter and Miss Granger. Those are beautifully made quills, and I have no doubt in my mind that you will do well in Charms as well." Professor McGonagall said proudly to her most prized students.

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall." Harry said, smiling as he looked at his girlfriend. Oh, how he loved the way she bounced on her heels when she was excited, or when her eyes sparkled when she knew the answer to a question. This, was his beautiful Hermione. No fakeness, or deceit. She was lovely in her own way. She would never need makeup or anything some bully told her to use. Whatever anyone said, this was his favorite Hermione.

 **A/N: Aww. Sorry, I got carried away with the fluff ending.**

 **Or maybe it's creepy, I really don't know.**

 **Anyway I don't have much more to write, so thanks so much for reading! Bye!~**

 **-Jordbaeren**


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